


Good Night [Last Goodbye]

by VolarFinch



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Asriel Dreemurr Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anyways I wrote this for the fifth anniversary, Chara gets to sleep, Empathy, Frisk & Asriel share a soul, Gen, I think Asriel should get to live, I would put Frisk at about 13, It's always been the one thing that bothered me, Nonbinary Chara & Frisk (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Not Canon Compliant, POV Third Person, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, SAVED Asriel Dreemurr, Same as Chara with Asriel at 14, Soul Bond, The Underground (Undertale), as a treat, i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolarFinch/pseuds/VolarFinch
Summary: They shrugged. No going back now, right? Besides, they could only go so long without Toriel getting worried and coming after them. Even if everyone in the Underground was their friend, the kingdom was still precarious with its traps and mazes. But Frisk had wandered the Underground plenty of times now, figuring out which path would lead them here, to this conclusion. They knew the Underground just as well as any monster living there did. Even if Toriel didn’t necessarily know that.“So?” they prompted, gesturing their outstretched hand again. Asriel’s dark eyes flickered to the soul fragment––the dim red light gave him a haunted, almost hungry look. “Whattaya got to lose?”| In which Asriel get his happy ending.
Relationships: Asriel Dreemurr & Frisk, Chara & Frisk (Undertale)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Good Night [Last Goodbye]

**Author's Note:**

> UNDERTALE will always hold a special place in my heart as a game about love, choice, and tragedy. I wrote this in honor of the 5th Anniversary the other day and decided to post it. It's not much, but it's not supposed to be. Don't expect any more Undertale content from me lmao I wrote this special for the anniversary and for all the game has done for me, especially with how rough 2020 has been.

It went like this:

Frisk shattered their soul.

It didn’t hurt as much as they thought it would. In fact, it barely hurt at all; the faintest breath of pain came and went before they could even process it. The overwhelming sense of Determination they’d felt since they’d stumbled into the Underground cracked and disappeared. Not fully, but enough for them to mentally stumble. They let out a shaky breath, their limbs relaxing finally. No one should have that much power, they reasoned. Besides, they’d put it to much better use.

“Here,” they said, holding out a part of their soul to Asriel.

He stared at them with wide, horrified eyes. This close, Frisk could see that his eyes were rust-colored, the same shade as Toriel’s. They could see the tears pricking his eyes, could hear the quiet hitch in his breath as he stared at the red soul fragment in their hand.

“What did you  _ do _ ?” he asked, thinly-veiled terror in his voice.

“What I think is right,” they answered simply. They, admittedly, never thought too hard on their course of action. “I don’t want to leave you. That’s not fair.”

“Life isn’t fair.” 

Frisk couldn’t tell who Asriel was echoing: Chara or Flowey.

“Well,” Frisk continued, “maybe it should be.”

They glanced at their hand again, frowning slightly. “Besides, it’s not like I can really put it back. I’ve tried doing this a couple of times now, and it always Reset me. This was the first time it actually, like… worked.”

They shrugged. No going back now, right? Besides, they could only go so long without Toriel getting worried and coming after them. Even if everyone in the Underground was their friend, the kingdom was still precarious with its traps and mazes. But Frisk had wandered the Underground plenty of times now, figuring out which path would lead them here, to this conclusion. They knew the Underground just as well as any monster living there did. Even if Toriel didn’t necessarily know that.

“So?” they prompted, gesturing their outstretched hand again. Asriel’s dark eyes flickered to the soul fragment––the dim red light gave him a haunted, almost hungry look. “Whattaya got to lose?”

Asriel stood there for a long moment, staring at the soul fragment and thinking. Frisk was patient. They could practically hear the gears turning in his head, overthinking every possible solution and outcome. They’d give him the time he needed. Though, it wasn’t like there was another option for Frisk to use. They couldn’t force their soul back together; not with it  _ this _ broken anyways. 

Frisk snapped out of their daze as Asriel twitched. They watched as slowly, hesitantly, he reached out for the soul fragment. He paused just a hair’s width away from the soul, his gaze meeting theirs. His eyes looked red in the dim glow of their soul, filled with an unsteady light and determination they hadn’t seen in any other timeline. They felt a smile pull on their face, and they nodded.

Asriel mimicked the movement, then touched the soul.

The soul’s dim glow brightened at the touch, the shattered piece morphing and spinning as it combined with what was left of Asriel’s being. Frisk’s entire body felt like it was pure static for a brief moment, every cell in their being vibrating as their soul merged with Asriel. What felt like half an eternity came to a quick rest only seconds later––the soul absorbed into Asriel’s finger, spreading rapidly through his body and making him glow red for a long moment. The light died down as quickly as it began. Frisk and Asriel exhaled as one.

Not quite the same, but no longer different. They were closer than any two beings in the world, and they would be forever now. Frisk quite liked the feeling.

Asriel blinked hard, flexing his hand as he looked at himself with a critical eye. Nothing had changed outwardly; at least, nothing either of them could notice. He twisted and turned, bending himself at odd angles, testing the limits of his body, testing to see if it was  _ real _ . Frisk could feel the symphony of emotions Asriel was experiencing––fear, excitement, joy, guilt, and so much more that they were surprised Asriel was still standing. They’d never felt anyone feel emotions that intensely–– _ they _ hardly felt emotions that intensely! It was no wonder Chara had always been so worried over Asriel; they’d always been afraid he’d over-emote himself into an early grave.

“Wow,” he said. 

An understatement if Frisk had ever heard one. 

“Wow,” they agreed.

Asriel’s gaze snapped back to them, that faint light in his eyes practically shining as euphoria settled in his chest. A grin spread over his face, a light laugh leaving his lips He spun around, his bubbling laughter growing as he broke into a run, airplane running the entire room as he truly settled into his body. He let out several loud whoops, jumping into the air and testing his limits, a bird free from its cage.

Frisk could feel it, too. The feeling of settling; the prevailing sense of frustration and endlessness vanished as a solid sense of reality clung to their bones. They felt themselves relax as their own soul stitched its remaining pieces together into the familiar heart-shape Frisk had grown accustomed to. It was smaller now, though not any more fragile––their power, after all, came from their own Determination, not whatever Determination had polluted the Underground for so long. They were the only one with access to their body now. Just them and Asriel, that was.

“Frisk!” Asriel exclaimed, tackling them to the ground. The two hit the flowers with a shared, “Oomph!” They rolled onto their backs, sharing only a look before they both dissolved into giggles.

“This is amazing!” Asriel continued, holding his arms out above him. “I haven’t felt like me in _so_ long, and now I feel––I feel even better than I remember! Do all humans feel this _solid_? I feel like I actually weigh something!”  
“That’s probably because you do,” Frisk pointed out. “Humans are _weighty_. We got big heavy bones and are full of organs and stuff. It’s gross.”

“Incredible,” Asriel murmured, clearly not listening to Frisk. He lowered his arms into the flowers, his fingers lacing through the petals and stems. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” they said. “It’s a gift.”

“I––I don’t deserve it.” A pang of grief filled Frisk’s chest, briefly, before they pushed the outside feeling away. They were gonna need to get used to the whole empathy thing. “Everyone must hate me. I––gods, Frisk, the pain I caused as Flowey? The destruction I enacted? It’s––I can’t go back.”

“You deserve it.” Their tone didn’t leave room for argument. They reached their hand out, interlocking their hand with Asriel’s. The touch made Asriel’s head snap towards them. “You would have done the same for me.”

“No, I wouldn’t have,” Asriel said, thinking of Flowey.

“Yes, you would have,” Frisk repeated, thinking of Chara. “You’re loved by everyone here, Asriel, whether you believe it or not. You can go home now.”

Asriel stared at Frisk, searching their expression for lies, even though they both knew they weren’t lying. His eyes began to water as relief and joy flooded his system, his emotions strong enough to bring even Asgore to his knees as he began to cry. His sobs rose, filling the entirety of the Ruins as he rubbed furiously at his leaking eyes. Frisk just smiled, maybe a bit sadly, as they met Chara’s gaze.

Chara stared fondly at Asriel, shaking their head. Their red eyes were sad, but accepting. 

_ “He was always such a crybaby,” _ they muttered, their voice nothing short of affectionate.

A deep sense of  _ closure _ filled Frisk as Chara, finally, let out an exhale of their own and allowed themselves to rest for good.

Frisk knew a lot was going to happen at once. They were going to lead Asriel out of the Ruins towards New Home; they were going to force him to interact with the various residents of the Underground and not let him hide away in their shadow; they were going to walk with him, hand and hand, to meet Toriel and Asgore and start a new life on the Surface. They knew the Surface would not be kind to monsters, not immediately. They knew it would take time, and effort, and Determination to get their happy ending secured. But for now, they allowed themself to lay in a grave of flowers, alive against all odds, and let their brother cry.

* * *

(“So, what happens next once we get to the Surface?”

“You know? I don’t know. I’ve never gotten this far.”)


End file.
